EPRC Seminar: Supporting communities in Rural Scotland through the LEADER rural development fund: past, present and future

On Wednesday 21 January, EPRC hosted a seminar by Ellie Brodie and Artur Steiner from Scotland's Rural College (SRUC). The aim of the seminar was to highlight lessons learnt for research, policy and practice from the 2007-2013 LEADER programme in rural Scotland, and reflect on the adoption of these lessons in the development of the 2014-2020 programme. Evidence of the impact of the LEADER approach was reviewed from projects across Scotland, including the Cairngorms National Park and the LEADER-funded Capacity for Change initiative (C4C) in Dumfries and Galloway. C4C aimed to develop community resilience and was tested through a longitudinal study in seven communities in Dumfries and Galloway. Key findings of an evaluation of C4C were that community resilience can be strengthened by the successful completion of LEADER projects. The presentation slides can be downloaded http://www.eprc.strath.ac.uk/news/BrodieSteiner.ppt